Prep notebook: NCHSAA pushes back football playoffs due to Hurricane Matthew flooding

Wake Forest defender Javon Terry (2) drags down Millbrook running back Larry Roundtree, III (34) during Wake Forest’s game at Millbrook on Sept. 30. The NCHSAA announced Monday it is pushing back football playoffs because of flooding caused by Hurricane Matthew.
Ray Black IIInewsobserver.com

With some member schools facing almost two weeks without classes as flood waters only now begin to recede from Hurricane Matthew, the N.C. High School Athletic Association has pushed back its football playoffs.

Boys soccer and volleyball playoffs are also affected, though the state championship dates remain the same. Last week, the NCHSAA announced that the girls tennis dual-team playoffs were going to be moved back one full week.

Volleyball teams in affected areas can exceed the weekly limitation for games, but Sunday practices and games are still not allowed. No changes were made to cross country or girls golf.

“The logistics of moving the fall championships dates, especially this close to the events, are complex; however, we must do everything in our power to do what is best for our student-athletes in the state,” NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker said in a statement. “Keeping our young people safe as we try to minimize risk of injury must be paramount in our decisions.”

Here’s how the championships break down, by sport:

Girls tennis: No change to individual regionals (Friday-Saturday) or state championships (Oct. 28-29). The dual-team playoff brackets will come out on Oct. 24. The first round is Oct. 25, the second Nov. 1, the third Nov. 3, the East/West finals are Nov. 9 and the state championships at the Burlington Tennis Center are now Nov. 12.

Volleyball: The brackets will come out on Oct. 25, instead of this week. The first round is Oct. 26, the second Oct. 27 and the third Oct. 29. The fourth round is Nov. 1, the East/West finals Nov. 3 and state championships are still Nov. 5 at Reynolds Coliseum.

Boys soccer: The brackets will come out Nov. 3, pushed back from Oct. 31. The first round is Nov. 5, second round Nov. 8, third round Nov. 10, fourth round Nov. 12, East/West finals Nov. 15 and the state championships are still Nov. 19 at N.C. State.

Football: The brackets will come out Nov. 12, pushed back from Nov. 5. The first round is Nov. 18, second round Nov. 25, third round Dec. 2, East/West finals Dec. 9 and state championships are now Dec. 16-17 at N.C. State, North Carolina and Wake Forest.

NCISAA playoffs

The N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association playoffs begin this week in most sports. Unrelated to Matthew, the girls tennis, boys soccer, volleyball and field hockey postseasons will take two weeks instead of one like previous years. The semifinals will be played Oct. 25 at the higher seeds and the state championships will be Oct. 29.

The cross country championships are Oct. 28 in Hagan-Stone Park near Greensboro while girls golf is Oct. 24-25 at The Country Club of Whispering Pines. The volleyball brackets will be released later this week and the first round is Saturday.

New AD

Newly hired Overhills athletic director Jermaine White, who is also an assistant principal at the school, expressed interest in starting lacrosse programs at the southern Harnett County school. Overhills is just across the county line from Fort Bragg and the school has many military families.

“We get a lot of different students from a lot of different places that have a lot of different backgrounds that are unique to our school,” White said. “We want to make that transition easy for them, and athletics is a way to do it.”

White has been at the school for two years and was previously an assistant to Lee County athletic director and boys basketball coach Reggie Peace for eight years.